The Ojays

The Ojays is an American R&B group hailing from Canton, Ohio that has been active since 1958 and is today one of the oldest such groups in the world. Its music, which blends disco and soul with R&B, has attracted hordes of music lovers and been released through record labels such as MCA Records, Minit Records and Philadelphia International. It has also worked with and performed with a number of artists such as Gerald LeVert, Levert and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. Members of the group today are Eddie LeVert, Eric Grant and Walter Williams. For fans of R&B played the classic way, there is no group better than this trio, a must see live via The Ojays tickets.
 
In 1963, The Ojays were formed by William Powell, Eddie Levert, Bobby Massey, Bill Isles and Walter Williams. They first began performing as The Triumphs and The Mascots and released their first song in 1961, titled as Miracles. This song was highly successful in Cleveland, Ohio and led to band gaining a large following. They took on their present name in tribute to legendary Cleveland radio DJ, Eddio O’Jay, and released the song Lonely Drifter. This song was a massive success and ranked first on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963. It was followed up with their first studio release, Comin’ Through, whose songs ranked high on the chart and was followed with songs that continued to reign over the music charts including hits like Stand In For Love, Let It All Out, Stand Tall, I'll Be Sweeter Tomorrow, Deeper In Love With You, Look Over Your Shoulder, and One Night Affair.
 
One of The Ojays songs, Lipstick Traces, was even performed by the band live on the ABC TV channel as part of the popular show, Shivaree. In 1972, they released the song Back Stabbers and an album of the same name; this song sold over a million copies and was followed by number one hits like Love Train, 992 Arguments, Time to Get Down and Sunshine. Through the seventies, they released many hit songs that ranked in the top ten of the Billboard Pop music chart. In 1977, the band saw a mourning period when one of their original founding members, William Powell, died of cancer. Sammy Strain, formerly of Little Anthony and the Imperials fame, joined the band. From 1972 onwards to 1983, nine of their songs made it to top of the UK music chart, particularly four that ranked in the top twenty of the UK Singles Chart. In 1987, they released the hit number five single, Use Ta Be My Girl, the album Let Me Touch You and its number one R&B hit, Lovin’ You.
 
During the nineties, The Ojays focused more on touring and performing live all over the US and in other parts of the over. In 2003, they turned actor and starred in the hit movie, The Fighting Temptations, alongside famous singer Beyonce Knowles and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. In 2004, they returned with the studio album Imagination and in 2005 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the greatest groups in the history of Rock and Roll. In 2005, they appeared live at the ESPY Awards and their song, For the Love of Money, became the theme song of Donald Trump’s reality show, The Apprentice. In 2009, they received the BET’s most coveted award, the Lifetime Achievement Award and a number of their songs were performed by Trey Songz, Tevin Campbell, Johnny Gill and Tyrese Gibson. The Ojays themselves also performed at the ceremony and in 2010, appeared live in Washington DC with Jon Stewart.
 
As inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, two of the greatest achievements a group can achieve, The Ojays are definitely an R&B group to enjoy live, preferably through cheap The Ojays tickets.